Semiconductor structure with an electric field stop layer for improved edge termination capability
An exemplary edge termination structure maintains the breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device after it has been sawed off the wafer and packaged by creating an electric field stop layer at a periphery of the semiconductor device. The electric field stop layer has a dopant concentration higher than that of the layer in which an edge termination is implemented, such as a drift layer or a channel layer. The electric field stop layer may be created by selectively masking the peripheries of the device during the device processing, i.e., mesa etch, to protect and preserve the highly doped material at the peripheries of the device.
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The breakdown voltage requirement in semiconductor devices can range from a few volts to more than 10 kV, depending on the application. Referring to
The breakdown voltage of the device is often reduced by the occurrence of high electric fields either within the interior portion of the device or at the peripheries, i.e., edges, of the p-n junction or the Schottky interface. In particular, electric field crowding at these peripheries leads to premature voltage breakdown and adversely affects the breakdown voltage capability of the device. Referring again to
An embodiment of a semiconductor device with an edge termination structure includes a first layer on a semiconductor substrate and a second layer connected to the first layer where a plurality of sources is formed. A second dopant concentration of the second layer is higher than a first dopant concentration of the first layer. The edge termination structure is formed in the first layer and further includes an electric field stop layer at a periphery of the semiconductor device having a third dopant concentration higher than the first dopant concentration of the first layer and approximately the same as the second dopant concentration of the second layer.
Another embodiment of a semiconductor device with an edge termination structure includes a semiconductor substrate which may include a highly doped buffer layer, a drift layer connected to the semiconductor substrate, a channel layer connected to the drift layer, and a source layer that includes a plurality of sources and is connected to the channel layer. A dopant concentration of the source layer is higher than a dopant concentration of the drift layer and a dopant concentration of the channel layer. The edge termination structure is formed in the drift layer or channel layer and further includes an electric field stop layer at a periphery of the semiconductor device having a dopant concentration approximately the same as the dopant concentration of the source layer.
Exemplary embodiments of the edge termination structure with an electric field stop layer will be described in detail with reference to the following figures, in which like numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:
The following description is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description of this invention. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In the description, relative terms such as “front,” “back,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom,” as well as derivatives thereof, should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing figure under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and normally are not intended to require a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “attached,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
In describing various embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. It is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
Although certain embodiments of an edge termination structure with an electric field stop layer discussed below utilize implanted vertical junction field effect transistors (VJFETs) for illustration purposes, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the edge termination structure is not limited to the design and/or fabrication of this particular device, and may, in fact, be used in the design and/or fabrication of any semiconductor device (e.g., a static induction transistor (SIT), a diode, a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and a rectifier, among others), including any vertical semiconductor device that blocks voltage. A VJFET is a type of field effect transistor that can be used as an electronically-controlled switch or as a voltage-controlled resistance. A SIT is a high power, high frequency, vertical structure device with short multi-channels. A diode is a two-terminal device having two active electrodes between which an electric current may flow. A MOSFET is a device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and composed of a channel of n-type or p-type semiconductor material. A BJT is a three-terminal device constructed of doped semiconductor material and may be used in amplifying or switching applications. An IGBT is a three-terminal power semiconductor device with high efficiency and fast switching. A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), a process referred to as rectification. Moreover, while examples illustrated below may indicate specific materials and dimensions, a person of ordinary skill in the art will also recognize that certain variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the various embodiments of edge termination structure.
Semiconductor devices, i.e., devices, are fabricated on a semiconductor wafer by standard clean-room fabrication techniques.
As noted above, electric field crowding at peripheries, i.e., edges, of a semiconductor device may lead to premature voltage breakdown, which adversely affects the breakdown voltage capability of the device. To minimize premature voltage breakdown at peripheries of the device, specialized edge termination techniques have been developed to reduce or prevent the electric field crowding at the peripheries of the device. The two primary techniques for terminating high voltage blocking devices made of compound semiconductors are junction termination extensions (JTE) and multiple floating guard ring edge termination.
With respect to the JTE, a p-type doped region is formed at the periphery of the main p/n junction for precise control of the depletion region charge. Implementing the JTE edge termination in a lightly doped drift layer or a channel layer (as opposed to the heavily doped source layer) is advantageous as it allows for lower doping levels and energies and for an electric field distribution at a lower differential (dE/dx or dE/dy) that increases breakdown voltage capability. Implementing the JTE edge termination in a lightly doped drift layer or a channel layer requires etching away the heavily n-doped source layer material in the periphery of the device.
The multiple floating guard ring edge termination reduces the amount of field crowding at the main junction by spreading the depletion layer past consecutively lower potential floating junctions (rings). These independent junctions act to increase the depletion layer spreading, thereby decreasing the high electric field at the edges of the main junction. It is also advantageous to implement the multiple floating guard ring edge termination in the lightly doped drift layer or the channel layer (as opposed to the heavily doped source layer) as this allows for wider spacing between guard rings and thus can increase fabrication tolerances. Implementing the floating guard ring edge termination in a lightly doped drift layer or a channel layer requires etching away the heavily n-doped source layer material in the periphery of the device.
Other examples of edge termination techniques include moat etch, surface implantation, bevel edge, and field plate terminations. Regarding the bevel edge termination, the periphery of the device has a sloped etch that terminates deep into the drift layer.
Electrical current flows from the drain layer 410 to the source layer 450 and is controlled by gates 460. A highly doped n+ buffer layer (not shown) and a highly doped n+ substrate layer 420 may be positioned between the drift layer 430 and the drain layer 410. Guard rings 470 are implanted in the drift layer 430 as shown in
Given the advantage of implementing the guard rings 470 or JTE in the drift layer 430 or the channel layer 440, semiconductor device processing typically begins by etching a vertical or sloped mesa along a dotted line 585 down to the drift layer 430 or the channel layer 440 using a resist mask 580, as shown in
Referring back to
When the device 220 is sawed off the wafer 210 and packaged, because the edge termination is implemented in the lightly doped drift layer 430 or the channel layer 440 (both shown in
The material in the substrate layer 420 (shown in
Referring to
The device processing, i.e., mesa etch, can be performed along a slope or vertically, and can be done with any standard lithographic selective etch masking method combination of a resist pattern, a dielectric pattern, or a metal pattern. The structure at completion of the mesa etch is shown in
By implementing the electric field stop layer 890, the breakdown voltage of the device 320 (shown in
While the embodiments of the electric field stop layer edge termination structure are described with respect to the JTE and multiple floating guard ring edge termination techniques, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the electric field stop layer edge termination structure can be equally applied to other edge termination techniques. For example, the bevel edge termination method can take advantage of the n+ field stop layer 890 because the process of etching a deep sloped mesa around the device also depletes the highly doped n+ material at the peripheries of the device.
The foregoing detailed description merely illustrates the principles of the edge termination structure with an electric field stop layer. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the edge termination structure and are thus within its spirit and scope.
Claims
1. An edge termination structure for a semiconductor device, comprising:
- a first n-type semiconductor layer having a first dopant concentration and situated on a top surface of a semiconductor substrate;
- a second n-type semiconductor layer having a second dopant concentration that is higher than the first dopant concentration of the first n-type semiconductor layer, and situated on a top surface of the first n-type semiconductor layer, wherein the first n-type semiconductor layer is sandwiched between the semiconductor substrate and the second n-type semiconductor layer;
- a mesa extending through the second n-type semiconductor layer and terminating into the first n-type semiconductor layer, wherein the edge termination structure is formed in the first n-type semiconductor layer surrounding a bottom of the mesa; and
- an n-type electric field semiconductor stop layer formed at a periphery of the semiconductor device having a third dopant concentration higher than the first dopant concentration of the first n-type semiconductor layer and approximately the same as the second dopant concentration of the second n-type semiconductor layer, wherein a top surface of the n-type electric field semiconductor stop layer is at a same elevation as a top surface of the second n-type semiconductor layer.
2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the mesa is etched along a slope.
3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the mesa is etched vertically.
4. The structure of claim 1, wherein the mesa is etched using one or more of a resist pattern, a dielectric pattern, and a metal pattern.
5. The structure of claim 1, wherein the electric field stop layer is formed at the periphery of the semiconductor device after etching the mesa.
6. The structure of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is selected from the group consisting of a silicon carbide (SiC), a diamond, a Galium Arsenide (GaAs), a Galium Nitride (GaN), an Aluminum-Galium-Nitride/Galium-Nitride, and an Indium-Galium-Nitride/Galium-Nitride material based power device.
7. The structure of claim 1, wherein when the semiconductor device is sawed off a wafer and packaged, a second breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device is approximately the same as a first breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device when the semiconductor device is on the wafer.
8. The structure of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is a vertical semiconductor device that blocks voltage.
9. The structure of claim 8, wherein the vertical semiconductor device is one of a vertical-junction field-effect-transistor (VJFET), an ion-implanted static induction transistor (SIT), a diode, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and a rectifier.
10. An edge termination structure for a semiconductor device, comprising:
- an n-type semiconductor substrate;
- an n-type semiconductor drift layer situated on a top surface of the n-type semiconductor substrate;
- an n-type semiconductor channel layer situated on a top surface of the n-type semiconductor drift layer, wherein the n-type semiconductor draft layer is sandwiched between the n-type semiconductor substrate and the n-type semiconductor channel layer;
- an n-type semiconductor source layer situated on a top surface of the n-type semiconductor channel layer, wherein the n-type semiconductor channel layer is sandwiched between the n-type semiconductor drift layer and the n-type semiconductor source layer, and wherein a dopant concentration of the source layer is higher than a dopant concentration of the drift layer and a dopant concentration of the channel layer;
- a mesa extending through the n-type semiconductor source layer, wherein the edge termination structure is formed in an area surrounding a bottom of the mesa; and
- an n-type electric field semiconductor stop layer formed at a periphery of the semiconductor device having a dopant concentration approximately the same as the dopant concentration of the n-type semiconductor source layer, wherein a top surface of the n-type electric field semiconductor stop layer is at a same elevation as a top surface of the n-type semiconductor source layer.
11. The structure of claim 10, wherein the bottom of the mesa is in the n-type semiconductor drift layer.
12. The structure of claim 10, wherein the bottom of the mesa is in the n-type semiconductor channel layer.
13. The structure of claim 10, wherein the electric field stop layer is formed at the periphery of the semiconductor device after etching a mesa.
14. The structure of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor device is selected from the group consisting of a silicon carbide (SiC), a diamond, a Galium Arsenide (GaAs), a Galium Nitride (GaN), an Aluminum-Galium-Nitride/Galium-Nitride, and an Indium-Galium-Nitride/Galium-Nitride material based power device.
15. The structure of claim 10, wherein when the semiconductor device is sawed off a wafer and packaged, a second breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device is approximately the same as a first breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device when the semiconductor device is on the wafer.
16. The structure of claim 10, wherein the semiconductor device is a vertical semiconductor device that blocks voltage and is selected from a group consisting of a vertical-junction field-effect-transistor (VJFET), an ion-implanted static induction transistor (SIT), a diode, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and a rectifier.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 30, 2008
Date of Patent: Sep 21, 2010
Patent Publication Number: 20100078755
Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Los Angeles, CA)
Inventors: John Victor D. Veliadis (Hanover, MD), Ty R. McNutt (Columbia, MD)
Primary Examiner: Mary Wilczewski
Attorney: Andrews Kurth LLP
Application Number: 12/285,138
International Classification: H01L 29/732 (20060101);